The invention relates to a force measuring system with at least two load cells that detect the partial forces of the force to be measured and that convert them into a digital output signal. The force measuring system further has an electronic circuit that uses the output signals of the individual load cells to calculate a total signal that depends on the magnitude of the force to be measured. It transmits this signal to another electronic unit for further processing or data output.
EP 319 202 B1 discloses a weighing scale with multiple load cells in which the electronic circuit, which calculates the total signal and transmits it to the downstream electronic unit, is accommodated in a so-called junction box. The individual load cells are connected with the junction box in a star shape, and the total signal as the output signal of the junction box is supplied to the downstream electronic unit via a separate connecting line.
The use of a separate junction box, however, results in additional hardware complexity.
The circuit that calculates the total signal and transmits it to the electronic unit connected downstream can also be integrated in the downstream electronic unit. In this case, however, program parts and/or circuit elements, which are required to calculate the total signal, are located in the downstream electronic unit. As a result, the clear separation of the functions, “determining the force measurement result” on the one hand and “further customer-specific processing of this measurement result” on the other, is no longer provided. This separation is important, for example, for the ability to verify the individual steps, for questions of the calibratability of the measurement result or for extensive processing algorithms that differ for different customers.